Things you find sticking in the ball diamond's fence.

Evidence of thirst.

When Dad is distracted by his blackberry and when he has captured
the kick ball, we children know that the end is near. :(

Farewell!
~Carmen~

A Farewell Party for our Aunt

Greetings!

My Aunt Gloria recently left to go to Thailand for four months on mission work. The Martin family had a farewell get-together the Sunday before she left. Having just started my blog, I was more conscious than normal of the need to take photos. It must have been rather noticeable because, at the end of the evening, my one aunt inquired how many pictures I had taken. My uncle, who is a mathematician, estimated correctly that I had taken around two hundred. I know that to some of you that doesn't sound like many, but it produced some incredulity among my relatives. Here are a few of those two hundred.

The men socialize (or listen to Dad talk;-).

The women look at photos...and socialize of course!

Looking at photos is certainly a big part of a Martin family gathering.
It's a great way to keep on top of each other's lives.

One of the great things about digital cameras is that they have a screen. A pocket-sized photo album! (Well, only if you have a pocket-sized camera--I'm determined to find good points about my camera!)

All right, it isn't just the women who enjoy photos:)!

Caught raiding the candy dish.

Keon - one of my great Canadian cousins

1 cute + 1 cute = too cute

One of my and Candace's favorite pasttimes at Grandma's house is
looking through her Taste of Home magazines, getting ideas for new
dishes and longing to be able to cook as well as some of the featured chefs.

The whole crowd.

This is the second time that potato chips made it on my blog

in a total of three photo posts. I don't even care for them very much.

(The plain, that is; seasoned chips, such as Sour Cream and Onion,
are a different story altogether!)

A birthday boy.

Jesse found the attention disconcerting. The poor fellow was about
to melt into tears when...

...the sun suddenly broke through the clouds.
Maybe being two won't be so bad afterall!

Fans giving their congratulations.

I wondered out to the trampoline (always a place of activity)
to find a variation of the game "Mother May I?" underway.

"Seth and Adria, you may take one giant step."

Mischief

Will he catch me if I take one extra step?

I noticed that Christian was very fair and liked to keep all his ducks in
a row. I never did get the point of a game in which the "itter"
decides who gets to win.

Barefeet Art

Watching the video that I took of our Grandparents' hot-air-balloon ride.

Enjoying the footage of Dad's hat flying out the window!

Rook - a Martin family tradition and my favorite game (yes, even

better than Set or Dutch Blitz)!

Gloria a great Rook player.

The winner of the evening.

The proof that what I say is true (and the proof that
my penmanship can be very sloppy).

Clayton bidding Gloria farewell.

Actually, Candace informs me that he was recounting, in vivid

detail, how our pet rabbit "languished and died."

Dad giving his youngest sister last-minute advice.

Goodbye, Gloria. We are missing you!

Farewell to anyone who made it this far.
God Bless!

~Carmen~

Hello everyone and welcome.

This post features some everyday, though not necessarily normal, events in our family. I suppose every family has its quirks and odd things it does. Probably, most of you don't have siblings that feel at home in a dumpster. I, personally, do not find it my favorite environment, but, on the particular evening that I will be covering, I subjected myself to a close brush with it in order to get some photos. A little background information to help you understand the circumstances might be in order. In our back yard, there is a dumpster that the folks who rent our barn dump trash in. This is the scene of the next few pictures. The rest of the pictures are from another evening in which my youngest sister was reading the newspaper. Once again, that is probably something that your little sister does not do as a rule. To tell the truth, Mercy does not make a regular habit of it either, which is why I got my camera out when I saw her doing it.

Templeton, his Relatives, and their Native Environment

The scroungers. The dumpster in our back yard

provides many useful articles to those who care to

search! Wood for forts, old soda cans, you name it...

Looks as if the scroungers have reinforcements
on the way.

More packrats!

Candace and Conrad are "friendly" rivals in a competition
to see who can collect the most soda cans for recycling.
On this particular evening, Candace has the initial victory.

To Candace's great chagrin, Conrad soon follows it
up by finding a can of his own.

Conrad nearly splits his face with a grin when he

discovers another can.

(My brothers and sisters are good actors- I know,

by saying that, I am admitting that some of
these pictures were staged. Notice Candace's

great expression of dismay!)

Friends once again.

Unfortunately, the peace is only temporary and,

when another can is spotted, a frantic skirmish breaks out.

Though appearances may be deceiving (especially
as I told you that some of the animosity was staged),
these two really are best of friends!

Mercy, the Newspaper, and the Camera

Yes, even my two year old sister keeps

up with current events. :-)

On to the next page.

" No! I am not keeping up this sham for you
or for the camera"

The photographer ambles off, leaving her camera
ungaurded. Woe to the camera!

"So that's how I look when I'm reading the newspaper."
She doesn't even look guilty!

Discovered! (I admit that my dismay is

somewhat feigned. After all, I couldn't be very

upset when I had left the camera sit there as bait,

while I used the other to photograph her.)

Mercy receives a lecture from the other camera owner in our
house, whose camera case has also been tampered with.

Can't you just see that "NO!" formed expressively on Candace's lips?

Mercy receives lessons on the proper (meaning "supervised")
use of that revered instrument, the camera.

Mercy's 1st photo!

The above photo just makes me feel good.
Doesn't she look so happy?

Farewell!

~Carmen~